Massachusetts Wealth Management Grows Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Massachusetts Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,974 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 275 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,933,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of 3M by 38.2% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 118,288 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $15,330,000 after purchasing an additional 32,709 shares in the last quarter. James J. Burns & Company LLC purchased a new stake in 3M in the fourth quarter worth about $1,235,000. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 151.3% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 1,495 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $193,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. lifted its position in shares of 3M by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 8,050 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,039,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 2,453 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $317,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MMM shares. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Melius Research upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America increased their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kevin H. Rhodes sold 6,743 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.85, for a total transaction of $1,010,438.55. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $734,564.70. The trade was a 57.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 in the last ninety days. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

3M Price Performance

MMM opened at $151.73 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The business has a fifty day moving average of $135.98 and a 200 day moving average of $131.93. 3M has a 52-week low of $75.40 and a 52-week high of $155.00. The stock has a market cap of $82.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The firm’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is 37.09%.

3M Company Profile

3M Company provides diversified technology services in the United States and internationally. The company’s Safety and Industrial segment offers industrial abrasives and finishing for metalworking applications; autobody repair solutions; closure systems for personal hygiene products, masking, and packaging materials; electrical products and materials for construction and maintenance, power distribution, and electrical original equipment manufacturers; structural adhesives and tapes; respiratory, hearing, eye, and fall protection solutions; and natural and color-coated mineral granules for shingles.